Lytham Hall presents Wuthering Heights to 450 people on a wet afternoon

A scene from Chapterhouse Theatre Company's production of Wuthering Heights, featuring Emily-Rose Hurdiss as Cathy and Aaron Charles as Heathcliff

Published:12:52Friday 17 June 2016

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Lytham Hall’s open air theatre season got off to an impressive start as around 450 people flocked to the first outdoor play of the year.

After a wet afternoon, the clouds parted and the wind dropped completely to provide superb acoustics amid the sheltering trees for the Chapterhouse cast of eight who received a rousing ovation for just the third performance in a national tour of Wuthering Heights.

We could not have wished for a more perceptive audience or a more glorious setting and we all felt welcomed before and during the play

Chapterhouse’s company manager Eliza Jade who played the role of Nelly Dean praised the reactions of an attentive Lytham audience.

“We could not have wished for a more perceptive audience or a more glorious setting and we all felt welcomed before and during the play,” she said.

“It was a splendid boost to our confidence as we set out on a very demanding summer tour.”

Julian Wilde, organiser of the four play open air season which has the Express as one of its Patrons, is already looking forward to the second play, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Illyria on Friday July 1.

He said: “Many of the audience said that they would certainly be back for another play during the summer. The stillness of the evening and the closeness of the cast made for a unique atmosphere and that is what the audience particularly enjoyed.”

Julia Munro, 17, who, with her friend Hannah Booth was part of the meeting and greeting team, was impressed by the skills of the cast.

She said: “The pace of the play was excellent and I thought that the cast captured the dramatic and poignant turning points as the plot unfolded. Their performance brought out just what a powerful and grim story Wuthering Heights is,” she said.

Meg Hargreaves, from the Friends of Lytham Hall, felt that the presence of Lytham’s Guardian Concert Band, under the baton of conductor Paul Cooper, added much to the occasion.

Tickets are already selling very well for the three further plays in the Lytham Hall open air theatre season, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore on Sunday July 10 and Danny, the Champion of the World on Sunday, August 28. Details at www.lythamhall.co.uk

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